RF vs Fi

[deepknockin 0]

I own two rockford t1's and are a true rockford fan but want some more poundage but i recently saw the steve meade videos and am intrigued. i notice hes running a Rf amp of course but not the t2's which makes me wonder. what do you guys think would be better and i want an opinion from someone who actually has heard both on which i should go with. 2 t2 15'' or 2 btl 18"

[Acidburn 10]

The 2 18"s would be louder simply because of the much greater cone area.

[flakko 1]

Ri?

[Acidburn 10]

Ri?

Must mean Fi

[johnecon2001 82]

Fixed.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

BTL

[deepknockin 0]

can i get a good reply because simply cone area is bullchit because i know for a fact the t2 will knock harder then say the q series 18 and they have more cone area.

[ford302redneck 15]

How could somebody compare T2's to BTL's, anyways?

[deepknockin 0]

well i just talked to the guy who previously installed my last 2 set ups and he says straight up that if steve meade is only getting 160 out of 8 then the RF t2's will do better because he holds a 174 trophy with the RF's so if anybody wants to debate me with some good solid facts it would much appreciated. but he did say that he thinks his buddy who was installing right now that couldnt talk at the moment got a little higher using cerwin vegas.

Edited March 1, 2008 by deepknocking

[shizzzon 461]

if you really need an answer to which is louder then you need to just stick to what you know(Rockford) before you up the ante in heavy duty equipment.

[deepknockin 0]

so im taking it youve heard 4 t2 15''s and know they are inferior?

[shizzzon 461]

and no one can tell someone that an install is "wack" just because of a number.

Steve Meade's design in the Escalade is NOT for competition.

Steve Meade's design in the Escalade doesn't push the 18s to their limits Either!

And as far as i know, that 15Kw amp doesn't output that power all the time, correct? doesn't it have to charge up to get that much out of it after a while?

Oh and his setup, i'm sure, is tuned low due to daily driving.

Don't get someone's opinion like that. That starts false rumors about products.

Get the facts from the designer himself, not from a picture or a guess.

[deepknockin 0]

yea but thats not reputable either because of course hes going to say my products better who wouldnt.and yes steve meades tahoe with the 4 18s is spl set up and pushing them subs to their limits because he competes in compititions and before he was using 4 t40001bds to each.

Edited March 1, 2008 by deepknocking

[Adrian_D 520]

well i just talked to the guy who previously installed my last 2 set ups and he says straight up that if steve meade is only getting 160 out of 8 then the RF t2's will do better because he holds a 174 trophy with the RF's so if anybody wants to debate me with some good solid facts it would much appreciated. but he did say that he thinks his buddy who was installing right now that couldnt talk at the moment got a little higher using cerwin vegas.

What kind of install was is that scored 174 ? At what frequency, what amplifiers...

Can't just say one brand is better than the other without looking at all the variables...

You sound to me like you already are set on T2's. Why ask for opinions only to end up saying which ones are better ?

Do you plan on competing or just using it as a loud daily driver ?

[shizzzon 461]

Ok, you are gonna make me spell out the obvious here-

This is going all my manufacturer's recommendations on both sides-

T2 - 1000wrms 87DB efficient

RE on D2 - 1.8

EBP - Low, designed for Sealed applications mainly.

Xmax - 19mm

SD - 748 cm^2

18" BTL - 2000wrms(3000wrms fully loaded) 95.1DB efficient

RE on D2 - 1.5

EBP - pretty high, over 120, designed specifically for Ported enclosure for even more output.

Xmax - 16mm Stock, Xmax is increased when using HiXmcoil

SD - 1210 cm^2

So far, i have covered the basics so let's see who wins this comparison-

The 18 is 8 db more efficient, more cone area, handle 3x as much power, Re is lower than RF which means it can receive more power, larger xmax after Hixmcoil more excursion and suited for ported designs which makes it even more efficient.

There is no way a T2 should be compared to an 18" BTL. They are not in the same class.

[shizzzon 461]

yea but thats not reputable either because of course hes going to say my products better who wouldnt.and yes steve meades tahoe with the 4 18s is spl set up and pushing them subs to their limits because he competes in compititions and before he was using 4 t40001bds to each.

I don't like to argue, thats why i said do NOT look at a picture or just guess how someone has something setup and go off of that without facts.

For one, you are talking about the WRONG setup.

I am referring to the Escalade as what you had originally mentioned when you said 8 18s.

2nd, just because someone enters in a competition doesn't mean he set his equipment to win 1st place.

He just wanted a number to go with that setup just like anyone else would if they thought their setup was loud.

I have went to a comp before with 1 15 tuned at 29hz. No REAL competitor would do that, but i did! I still hit 144.3 db at 31hz on audiocontrol mic.

Not everyone in comps is an extremist. Some do it for the numbers and fun, others do it to win 1st.

Again, you are comparing 2 woofers in separate classes.

You should be comparing the T2 to a 15" BL.

Meade runs BTLs, far greater in output.

[deepknockin 0]

ive read all the numbers but i know sometimes companys bullchit there products like hell like saying a kenwood 1000 watt amp will really push 1000 watts efficently and second i guess the only way to really tell is to get 2 btls and find out because i have heard 2 t2's

[shizzzon 461]

no, there really are ways to find out beforehand.

One is what you are doing now, research and asking questions.

Think of it this way. Fi is an internet only based company.

Users come online to do research. They've heard other setups before and may have owned a few.

This message board is home to a lot of companies.

When you get this many people together all agreeing about how loud a certain sub gets it, you get interested. When you see that many people running that line of subs, that's interesting. When you go on youtube and see what they can do vs what other comparisons one has, that's the key to purchase.

Every sub has a class comparison to an extent.

I used to run Audioque. I am not changing because i don't like them, i'm changing because me vehicle is smaller and Fi's BL 10s require a smaller box than the AQs do.

Everyone may have to change sometime but after being on this board for a while and researching what all is offered here, there's a bigger world out there after only focusing on whats at the stores.

I was telling someone else this earlier in the week about how someone he knew was knocking on Fi because they aren't heard of in his area and that makes them a terrible company?!?!

Things like that is what gets people made fun of but all goes to show those who are trying to learn just how uneducated these people really are about car audio, or any audio for that matter.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

can i get a good reply because simply cone area is bullchit because i know for a fact the t2 will knock harder then say the q series 18 and they have more cone area.

How so?

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

ive read all the numbers but i know sometimes companys bullchit there products like hell like saying a kenwood 1000 watt amp will really push 1000 watts efficently and second i guess the only way to really tell is to get 2 btls and find out because i have heard 2 t2's

There is no BS in Fi products, they are underratted in power handling for sure.

[deepknockin 0]

thanks shizz youve helped man its just hard to switch up to something ive never heard or heard of anyone having like you say from what ive always known to knock harder then anyones around.

[NDMstang65 403]

Some dealers will tell you anything to make a buck...

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Some dealers will tell you anything to make a buck...

That is so true, not to mention the mark up on RF products in a shop are out of this world.

[mccleery3 166]

Why don't you try to find someone either in your area with some Fi's or possibly go to a comp. and look for someone with them? It seems this may help in your decision by actually hearing them...not being a smarta$$, just a sug.

[JimJ 11]

can i get a good reply because simply cone area is bullchit because i know for a fact the t2 will knock harder then say the q series 18 and they have more cone area.

Just out of curiosity, did you compare equally-tested installs in a very similar acoustic environment?

Just because something "knocks harder" (whatever that means) in one install does not hold true universally.